A cruise ship broke its moorings because of severe weather while it was docked in the port of Syracuse, Sicily, crashing against other pleasure boats. The incident took place on Saturday 6 January, while the Sicilian city was being hit with strong gusts of wind, like other parts of Southern Italy.

The wind was the cause of the incident as the MSC Sinfonia, which was in lay up in Porto Grande, was ripped from its moorings. The ship, 275 metres long with a tonnage of 65,591 tonnes,hit the pier, and was then carried to the nearby tourist marina where it crashed into the pleasure boats docked there.

A number of terrified witnesses filmed the event on their phones, sharing their videos on social media. A dispute is brewing on social media about the lack of consideration taken before mooring such a large ship, with a 54-metre gunwale, in the position it was in, with well-forecasted weather reports for high winds, and so close to the marina.

Tugboats were immediately called in to push the ship against the wind and bring it securely back to the pier. At the time of the incident, there were only crew members on the ship. MSC Sinfonia was in Syracuse for servicing, so no passengers were on board.

Video: salvage_and_wreck / Instagram